DEMONE SMITH: A SON OF THE INNER CITY WHO'S BECOME A FISCAL WATCHDOG FOR ALL OF BUFFALO

Back in the darkest days of the county budget crisis, it was Demone Smith that his fellow Legislators turned to to become their Finance Committee Chairman, resulting in a brick by brick reconstruction of the county budget which has served Erie County well to this day.

This year when the Buffalo Common Council seemed on the verge of chaos as a new Council President took over, it was Demone Smith that his colleagues turned to once again to become their Majority Leader, resulting in the passage of a fiscally sound city budget without the usual rancor and dissension.

“During the county budget crisis, I studied the county budget in great detail as Finance Committee Chairman to the point that I mastered county budget policy with help from colleagues such as Kathy Konst and Lynn Marinelli,”Majority Leader Smith recalls. “Together we reconstructed the county budget in ways that we still benefit from today. Once the crisis was over, I was able to pass legislation that allows the City of Buffalo to share the extra penny in sales tax revenues, resulting in $6-12 million in additional revenues coming to City Hall.”

These days the Majority Leader is applying those same skills to the city budget, supporting the fiscally conservative policies installed by Mayor Byron Brown. At the same time, this proud son of the inner city is totally committed to using his growing influence to improve the quality of life in his Masten District, from planting more trees and finishing the pool in Martin Luther King Park to economic development projects on Fillmore Ave.

“I started working on improving MLK Park back when I was an intern for then Common Council Member Byron Brown,” he recalls. “Working with the Olmstead Park Conservancy and others, we began the planting of 550 trees. Now that the completion of the Martin Luther King Park pool is in sight, I want to do even more with the help of Mayor Brown and the support of the community.”

Raised in the inner city himself, the young Demone could have succumbed to the many temptations that have doomed so many other urban lives.

He simply refused.

“I had good parents who taught me to always do my best and to and value learning and to always do what I say I'm going to do,” he remembers. “They had a no tolerance approach to misbehavior. They taught me the importance of helping others and being honest and respectful. When I was growing up, reading became my escape so that I read everything I could get my hands on and still do today..”

The result has been that Majority Leader Smith has attracted awards for community service going back to high school and college, followed by election to both the Erie County Legislature and Buffalo Common Council.”

“I made up my mind at a young age that I didn't want to be poor all my life,” Demone Smith remembers. “That as well as my love for the community and for the City of Buffalo have motivated me to work hard ever since.”